Strongly cast as David McVicar's production of Gounod's Faust was when first seen in 2004, this revival offered no less stellar casting. The exciting young tenor Vittorio Grigolo, who made such a splash in Manon last year, returns to Covent Garden in the title role alongside Angela Gheorghiu, René Pape and Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

Australian born guitarist Craig Ogden studied guitar from the age of seven. He is one of the world's finest classical guitarists, with a laid back and natural approach to playing guitar. He released his debut solo album for Classic FM, 'The Guitarist' last summer and it went straight to number one.

For more than two decades, the conservative audience at the New York Met thrilled to the naïve pictorialism of the Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen production of Wagner’s Ring. Now Robert Lepage, of Cirque du Soleil fame, offers in its place a show of state-of-the-art technological wizardry.

When it comes to the BBC Proms we can hold our heads up high. These may be tough times for the country economically but you'd hardly know it from the glittering roster of talent or the sheer range of activity lined up at the Albert Hall over the next two months.